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Upland outlines PFAS treatment study, AMI pilot and efforts to curb 700 million-gallon water loss
Summary
City utilities staff described a PFAS feasibility study considering treatment trains and shared options with neighboring agencies, announced an AMI meter pilot to detect non-surfacing leaks and said the water master plan estimates about 700 million gallons of annual unaccounted water loss.
Deputy public-works director for utilities Richard Gonzales told the City Council on June 1 that the city is launching a PFOS/PFAS feasibility study to analyze treatment options, plant sizing and cost-allocation methods and to explore partnership structures with neighboring utilities.
Gonzales said the draft treatment capacity under consideration is about 6,700 gallons per minute and that the feasibility work will evaluate media options such as ion exchange, granular activated carbon (GAC) or resin and whether a UV-AOP system would also be necessary because of other constituents in source water.
Staff said treatment "trains" that remove PFAS can cost roughly $3 million to $4 million each depending on configuration and that the city has already begun creating a PFAS reserve and pursuing claims through manufacturers and claims administrators to defray costs. "We're actively working through those and submitting our claims process," Assistant City Manager Damien Arula said; he also noted the city is pursuing partnerships and earmarks.
On water loss and metering, staff said a portion of the system is losing about 700,000,000 gallons every year that do not surface because of local topography; the AMI pilot, with three vendors shortlisted (Core & Main, Metron and Ferguson/Neptune), will install test meters in three adjacent blocks and run for one year. Staff said the city will purchase meters for the pilot at about $50,000 per bidder and city crews will install them.
Council members discussed converting the 700 million gallons into acre-feet and the approximate dollar impact. A corrected conversion of 700,000,000 gallons is roughly 2,150 acre-feet; at an illustrative $1,000 per acre-foot that implies about $2.1 million in equivalent water value annually. Staff emphasized the pilot's goal is to locate non-surfacing leaks so crews can target repairs rather than repeatedly tearing up pavement.
Staff also described near-term utility projects: San Antonio Canyon water-treatment filter rehabilitation and valve/electrical work (contractor Mesco Water, about $3.1 million, two to three months) and a planning-stage 15th Street transfer-station repair project expected to run 12 months. Gonzales said the PFAS feasibility work will develop allocation methodologies for capital and O&M costs and explore regional treatment alternatives.
